Former Gearbox and Riot devs raise $5.5 million for their fully remote studio Ruckus Games
Ruckus Games is a new game development studio founded by former Gearbox and Riot employees. The team is now working on a co-op game built with its proprietary technology.
The round was led by Transcend Fund, with participation from Bitkraft Ventures and 1Up Ventures (via GamesBeat).
Ruckus Games is based in Texas, but it is a fully remote studio that wants to make sure that every team member has equal rights. “We wanted to be developer-first,” co-founder Paul Sage said. “We wanted our developers to be treated well, paid well, and, one of the most important things, have a voice in the studio.”
Who are Ruckus Games?
The studio is led by CEO and game director Paul Sage. He is an industry veteran who started his career at Origins Systems in 1995 and has worked at NCSoft, ZeniMax Online Studios, and Gearbox. Sage’s portfolio includes games like Ultima Online, Elder Scrolls Online, and Borderlands 3.
Other team members and co-founders include:
- Jesse McIntyre, CTO and technical director, who has worked at companies like Electronic Arts, ZeniMax, and Riot Games. At Riot, he worked in the R&D division prototyping gameplay systems for an isometric adventure game codenamed Project F;
- Scott Kester, art director, who spent years at Gearbox working on the Borderlands franchise;
- Keith Schuler, principal designer, worked at 3D Realms for almost 11 years and later becoming a part of Gearbox;
- Carl Shedd, world director who worked at Gearbox for 17 years and was also a level artist on Rage;
- Chris Strasz, gameplay and UX director, who worked on games like Star Wars: The Old Republic, TES Online, and Borderlands at BioWare, ZeniMax, and Gearbox;
- Kevin Penrod, character art director, who spent over 14 years at Gearbox and also worked at companies like Vigil Games and Ritual Entertainment;
Ruckus Games is now hiring, looking for a level designer, technical artist, and gameplay engineer.
What is known about the studio’s debut game?
- When looking at Ruckus Games co-founders’ portfolio, it is no surprise that their first game will be a cross-platform multiplayer experience.
- Sage describes the project as a “cooperative suburban shooter” with survival and crafting elements, as well as a lot of humor.
- Based on a brand new IP, the game is yet to be officially announced. So there are not many details about its genre or gameplay mechanics.
- However, one thing is known for sure — this game won’t have any blockchain elements, as Ruckus Games has no interest in this area.
- The title is expected to come out on PC and consoles, but it has no target release window now.
